Hook and eye



7(No Model.)

J. W. BURKE.

1100K AND EYE- No. 596,259. .PatentedDec. 28, 1897.

UNITED STATES ATENT union.

JAMES WALTER BURKE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

HOOK AND EYE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 596,259, dated December 28, 1897.

Application filed July 16, 1896. Serial No. 599,415. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that'I, JAMES WALTER BURKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hooks and Eyes, of which the following is a specification.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the hook and eye connected. Figs. 2 and 3 show modifications.

The object of my invention is to produce a hook which may be manufactured cheaply on a commercial scale and one which is not liable to become detached accidentally from the eye.

One feature of my invention consists in the combination of a hook-bend and an automatic guard therefor that covers the freeend of the hook exteriorly.

Other features of my invention are pointed out hereinafter.

In the drawings illustrating the principle of my invention and the best way now known to me of applying that principle the hook is made of a single piece of wire bent to form the bend a, wings a, and guard a the wire members of the guard being in close proximity or narrowed from near thewiugs toward the outer end of the guard and spread at the outer end of the guard at a to form an opening, so that the guard passes exteriorly over the free end a of the hook proper or bend a. Any pressure on guard a tending to push it toward the back of the hook pushes the eye in that direction and prevents accidental unfastening. Wings a are preferably, though not necessarily, at an angle to the hook and guard, and are preferably, though not necessarily, two in number; but the location and number of the wings are immaterial to my invention most broadly considered, as the purpose of the wings is to permit ready attachment of the base or rear end of the hook to stock. The guard is made long enough to' by soldering or otherwise.

The free ends a of the wire from which the hook is formed may be united, if desired, in any suitable manner at any convenient point Wings 01 serve for attachment of the hook by sewing in the usual way and in some forms of my hook are elongated, as shown, in order that they may be attached by a line of stitches that not only secure the hook more firmly, but also serve as a finish for the garment. The back a of the hook is preferably straight and in the same plane as the wings a, so that the hook lies fiat on the garment or article to which it is attached. All parts of the guard are above the general level of the back of the shank of the hook, so that there are no parts or portions of the guard that project below the back of the hook to wear the fabric to which the eye is attached. As the hook in the form now referred to ismade wholly of wire, the back and bend of the hook, as well as the guard, are resilient, and the eye B is inserted by crowding it against the under side of the forward end of guard a the eye being guided by the curvature of the bend a over the free end a, which is preferably turned inwardly toward the back of the. hook, as shown, into the space between the back a and guard (L The purpose of having the free end a of bend or turned inwardly toward the back of the hook, as shown, is to bring that end into a protected or sheltered position, so that it shall not form a projection on which anything can catch when the hook is in use. The shank of the hook is composed of adjacent wires, and the guard and wings are formed of the same piece of wire which is doubled upon itself to form the hook. The guard is also formed of adjacent wires,which are coincident at the base portion of'the shank with the opposed portion of the shank of the hook. Eye B is readily removed by crowding a rearward wall of the eye against the guard a andfreeing the eye.

Any suitable eye may be used with my new hook, butin practice I prefer the eye B,formed of a wire bent to form a closed eye I), with elongated side wings I), having openings b whereby the eye is readily and ornamentally attached to a garment or other article, as above explained in connection with the hook.

The advantages of my new hook are that it may be attached and used without wearing pressure of any free ends or projecting portions against the garment, that it contains no part with which the eye can become entangled when the eye is to be unhooked, and that the eye is also readily caught in the hook and thereby secured against accidental unhooking, as any exterior pressure on the guard tends to force the guard toward the back of the hook, still holding the eye in place. The guard is sufficiently long in the preferred form of my invention to pass over the bend of the hook. In case of slight ordinary accidental movement the eye which has tended to release it from the hook, as heretofore made, the eye being caught in my new hook brings up against the under side of the guard and moves downwardly into its proper position. Considerable outward pressure is required to free the eye.

I11 Fig. 2, showing a modification, the back at, wings as, and bend 00 are of sheet metal, and the guard 00 a leaf-spring slotted at 00" to cover exteriorly the free end of the bend. The free end of the guard projects sufficiently beyond its contact with the bend at? to permit an eye to be crowded readily against the under surface of the guard when the eye is to be caught on the hook.

In Fig. 3, showing another modification, the eye is of sheet metal and has a closed eye 3 at one end and elongated open wings y at the other end.

My new hook may be changed otherwise than as shown in details of construction without departure from my invention, and I wish to be understood as claiming my invention in the most comprehensive legally permissible manner.

What I claim is- 1. As a new article of manufacture, the hook member of hooks and eyes, said hook member comprising a shank terminating in an inward bend the free end of which projects downward between the guard and said shank; a guard for said inward bend; the guard projecti ng beyond and inclosing the upper curved portion of said inward bend.

2. As a new article of manufacture, the

1 hook member of hooks and eyes, said hook member being made from a single wire bent inwardly to form a hook proper of doubled wire the free end of which is deflected downwardly toward the shank of said hook; wings at the butt-end of the shank of the hook; a guard for the bent portion of the hook; said guard being of wire doubled upon itself at the shank portion, open at its free end and inclosing and projecting outwardly beyond the upper curved portion of the hook; the shanks of the hook and guard being coincident.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a hook member of hooks and eyes, said hook member comprising an inward bend the free end of which is deflected toward the shank of the hook in combination with an exteriorly-acting guard, having a recess opposed to saidbend, the free end of the bend being normally within the space between the guard and hookshank.

JAMES WALTER BURKE. \Vitnesses:

EDWARD S. BEACH, E. A. ALLEN. 

